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In its effort to increase trade and investment opportunities from various markets, the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), represented by the Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC) in Toronto, is set to hold a breakfast forum dubbed as "Trade and Investment Opportunities in the Philippines" on 26 July at the Pinnacle Hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The forum is made possible with the support and cooperation of the Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver. Hon. Consul General Neil Frank Ferrer is expected to open the forum while Philippine Ambassador to Canada H.E. Petronila P. Garcia will serve as a keynote speaker. Special guests from various Canadian sectors led by Aquilini Renewable Energy Ltd. and Corinthian Distributors Ltd. will share their experience in doing business in the Philippines.

“The Philippines would like to see more investments from Canada given the vast potentials in manufacturing and services in the areas of IT-BPM, specifically Game Development and Animation, Agri-based Industry, and Aerospace”, according to Senior Trade Commissioner Alvero who is also set to present various opportunities in trade and investment in the Philippines.

“We also aim to double our exports to Canada particularly of food products and IT-BPM services in the next few years,” added Alvero.Read more.

ASEAN UNITY IN HELPING FUEL MSME GROWTH

With the adoption of the Manila Call to Action (MCA) for ASEAN MSMEs, all 10 ASEAN Governments, including the Philippines, are called to pursue affirmative actions for MSME development.

Participants at the ASEAN 2017 MSME Development Summit at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), Pasay City.

Adopted at the ASEAN MSME Development Summit on 14 July, the MCA strongly urges all ASEAN Member States (AMS) to dedicate fund to power programs and initiatives on MSME development.

“True to its name, the document is a call to action. We rally to purse 7Ms for MSME development and to translate our aspirations into deliberate actions at the regional, national and local levels,” said ASEAN Economic Ministers chairman and Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez.

The trade chief refers to the 7Ms, namely, mindset, mastery, mentoring, money, machines, markets and models. The 7Ms is the holistic MSME development strategy proposed by the Philippines to drive shared prosperity in the region.

“What we are discussing in our local engagements is now receiving regional attention. This is only indicative of the regional applicability of our grassroots efforts to help MSMEs move up in life,” he added.Read more.